Recipe Request--Strawberry Balsamic Jam

(makes about 4 cups):










--4 cups whole strawberries
--1/2 tbsp lemon juice
--1.5 tbsp balsamic vinegar
--1/2 tsp butter
--half of a 1.75 ounce package of regular powdered fruit pectin
--3.5 cups granulated sugar
--1 tbsp freshly cracked black pepper

1. In a colander, rinse strawberries with cool running water. Drain thoroughly and hull. Transfer berries to a bowl or dish and crush them with your clean hands (or potato masher) until they are good and juicy and you have 3-3.5 cups mashed strawberries.

2. Place berries in large saucepan (preferably stainless steel). Whisk in lemon juice, vinegar, and butter. Whisk in pectin until dissolved. Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring frequently. Pour in the sugar and allow to come to a full rolling boil again and boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Take off heat and whisk in the pepper.

3. Fill clean 8 ounce mason jars with the hot jam and allow to cool. Put the lids on and refrigerate. (If you would like to keep the jam for a long period of time, you'll need to learn how to sterilize your jars and heat process your jam to preserve it. We eat ours within a few weeks, so I don't worry about this process when I make jam for our house.)

**One thing I love to do with this jam is to put a couple tablespoons in a cup of plain, fat-free yogurt and give it a stir. Delicious.